Summer is a great time to get out of your routine and head someplace new.
For us, that often involves going to new wineries and meeting winemakers and winery owners. There is nothing like having wine poured by the person who turned the grapes into wine.
There are dozens of wineries within a couple of hours of Fort Wayne in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Each one offers its own unique environment and its own selection of wines. Many will be happy to sell you a bottle of wine to accompany the picnic you’ve packed to eat among the grapevines or in a scenic area set up just for that purpose. And they are all happy to talk to you about their wines and the winemaking process – no matter how much or how little you already know.
In just a few weeks, many of you will be heading to West Lafayette to drop your college students off at Purdue. Don’t let the opportunity to stop at a winery or two pass you by. For those with college freshmen, this may be a good way to forget for a moment about how your baby is really going to college. And for those with college seniors, it may be a good distraction from those bills that have been mounting over the last four (or more) years.
Wildcat Creek Winery in Lafayette is just the place to stop when you need a break from orientations, buying books and unpacking (www.wildcatcreekwinery.com or call 765-838-3498).
Rick and Kathy Black opened the winery in December 2008 with the goal of owning a winery where people felt comfortable to explore wine.
“The fun part is the education part. … We always enjoyed the wineries that had a personality, that made you feel good, that didn’t make you feel intimidated if you didn’t have a lot of wine knowledge,” Rick said. “I don’t care how much wine you’ve drunk. If your palate tells you you like it, that’s a good wine.”
That’s a philosophy we can agree with wholeheartedly.
Like many wineries in Indiana, Wildcat Creek opened to instant success. Rick said the first year was great, and with this vintage it has already doubled its production.
“We’re killing ourselves just to keep wine on the shelves,” he said. But it’s a good problem to have.
“It’s just a wonderment to us,” said Kathy, who still teaches sixth-grade language arts at Sunnyside Middle School in Lafayette.
Seven years ago, the Blacks decided a winery would be a good investment, and they began looking for land on which to locate. It took years before they found the perfect location in Lafayette, 3233 E. 200 N. And then it took three more years to get the proper zoning and build the winery.
In the meantime, Rick worked on his winemaking skills, racking up 18 medals from Indy International’s amateur winemaking contest.
That practice has paid off. The winery’s best-selling wine is its Riesling, a well-balanced white that will surely please Riesling lovers. In fact, it recently won the People’s Choice Award at the Indiana Pork Producers Taste of Elegance.
Wildcat Creek also sells a Traminette, Indiana’s signature wine. Rick said he was thrilled when Indiana gave Traminette its new title.
“I made it as an amateur, and I love using it,” he said. “I love what you can do with it.”
Right now, he makes what he considers a typical Traminette, but as he has time in the future, he wants to experiment with the grape and produce more varieties.
That dedication to the industry hasn’t gone unnoticed. This year, Rick and Kathy were given an EDGE Award (Economic Development and Growth through Entrepreneurship) from the Indiana Small Business Development Center.
The honor is granted to 10 emerging and 10 established businesses in Indiana each year.
“It’s just worked out better than we imagined,” Kathy said.
So whether you’re looking for a day trip or passing through the area, stop by Wildcat Creek. You won’t be disappointed.
And if one winery’s not enough, Whyte Horse Winery in Monticello isn’t far away (www.whytehorsewinery.com or 574-583-2345).
Cheers!
